Key figure in birth of angling club

Many people will remember Allan Riley with affection. I have memories of when he was Burney’s water engineer. I first met him in 1966 at the Calder Water Board office in Yorkshire Street, Burnley. The purpose of my interview was to try to persuade the Board to open one of its reservoirs for fishing.

Mr Riley was most helpful and, after several meetings, persuaded the Board to put fishing at Cant Clough Reservoir at Hurstwood out for public tender. The notice inviting tenders appeared in December 1966 and a bid in the name of the Mitre Angling Club was accepted by the Board in early 1967, thus Mr Riley was very much involved in the birth of a local fishing club which is still thriving.

We found him the most helpful, considerate and logical of water engineers and were disappointed when he moved to Cardiff a few years later. The club will make a donation to Water Aid in his memory .

Denis Halstead

Secretary, Mitre Angling Club